Manoj Joshi narrates how a simple call for Azadi by bands of disgruntled youth was transformed within a year into a full-scale jihad against India. Joshi’s chronicle dwells mainly on Pakistan’s proxy war against India. In subsequently exposing the unknown facets of the US position on Kashmir, he explores sensitive issues like the alleged mass rape at Kunan Poshpora, the infamous alley deaths and the abduction of four foreigners by the mysterious Al Faran militant outfit. Examining official attempts to curb the rebellion, Joshi is unsparing in his criticism of the political bungling and bureaucratic ineptitude which have hamstrung the fight against insurgency. Giving a raw, compelling edge to the book are the accounts of the many hapless victims of the rebellion. Meticulously researched, The Lost Rebellion is a riveting account of the human drama that lies at the heart of the Kashmir crisis.
Since the 1931 agitation, the Kashmiri-speaking community living in the valley has been grappling with ideological paradigms, searching for a common future. To put the rebellion into context, the book explores the lives of two ordinary Kashmiris, one of whom is an ex-militant commander acting as the leader of the Hurriyat Conference and the other a rural political worker. In weaving a complex historical narrative through a discussion about their lives, it examines aspects of Kashmiri reality that go beyond illuminating socio-economic, geopolitical and ideological causes of violence from 1931 to 2007. The book reveals a wealth of startling new information about the strategies, internal workings, disputes, excesses and failures of Kashmir’s militant movement as well as that of the Indian and Pakistani governments, their armed forces and intelligence agencies.
Barkha Dutt, journalist and anchor; columnist, Washington Post
David Devadas, author — The Story of Kashmir, Contributing Editor, Firstpost
Manoj Joshi, author — The Lost Rebellion: Kashmir in the Nineties, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Maya Mirchandani, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (Moderator)
Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma (Retd.), former Governor of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Registration
3:30 – 4:40 p.m. | Remarks by the authors followed by panel discussion
4:40 – 5:00 p.m. | Moderated Q&A
